Literature in English (0475) | H G Wells The War of the Worlds

H. G. Wells: The War of the Worlds – Comprehensive Study Notes

Hello! Welcome to your study guide for H. G. Wells' groundbreaking science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds. This book is a thrilling account of an alien invasion, but it’s also a powerful critique of Victorian society and human arrogance.

By studying these notes, you will learn how to analyze the plot, understand the characters, identify the writer’s techniques (AO3), and discuss the big ideas (themes) that Wells explores (AO2). Let's dive in!

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Section 1: Context and Overview (Setting the Stage)

1.1 The World Wells Was Writing For

Wells published this novel in 1898, near the peak of the British Empire’s power. Britain controlled vast parts of the globe, and many British people felt superior to other nations.

Key Context Point (AO2): The prevailing attitude was Imperialism and Hubris (excessive pride). Wells uses the Martian invasion to challenge this pride by making the British the victims of a far superior, cold-blooded aggressor.

• Think of it like this: If Britain was the great hunter of the world, Wells imagines a creature that hunts Britain.
• Genre: This is one of the earliest and most influential examples of Science Fiction (SF), where scientific ideas drive the plot and explore universal human concerns.

Did you know? Wells was heavily influenced by the scientific theories of Charles Darwin, especially the concept of evolution and the "survival of the fittest." The Martians represent a possible, terrifying end-point of cold, logical evolution.

Key Takeaway: Wells wrote The War of the Worlds to shock a confident, imperial Britain by showing them what it feels like to be conquered and hunted.

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Section 2: Structure, Plot, and Narrative (AO1)

The novel is structured in two books: The Coming of the Martians and The Earth under the Martians. It is told using first-person narration, which means the main narrator (who remains unnamed, a philosophical writer living in Woking) tells us his personal experiences.

2.1 Key Plot Points in Chronological Order (AO1)

Understanding the sequence of events is vital for quoting accurately and discussing themes.

1. The Landing: Strange explosions are seen on Mars. A cylinder lands in Horsell Common near Woking. Initially, curiosity is high, not fear.
2. First Blood: The Martians emerge—large, grey bodies and powerful machines called Tripods. They incinerate the crowd with the Heat Ray. This instantly shatters human complacency.
3. The Spread of Terror: More cylinders land across the country. The Martians are systematic and deadly, moving in their towering Tripods, which are almost impossible for Victorian weaponry to stop.
4. The Narrator's Journey: The narrator leaves his wife in safety (he thinks) and gets caught in the chaos around London. He witnesses the destruction of towns and the mass evacuation of London, described as a panicked, selfish flood of humanity.
5. The Curate and the Siege: The narrator joins a hysterical, cowardly priest (the Curate). They are trapped together for many days in a ruined house, watching the Martians feed on human blood and spreading the toxic Red Weed. This section focuses on psychological strain and loss of faith.
6. The Artilleryman's Vision: The narrator later meets the Artilleryman, who survives the initial attacks and dreams of rebuilding a new, underground society. However, the Artilleryman is lazy and impractical, highlighting human failure.
7. The Unexpected End: After the Martians have dominated the planet, they suddenly stop moving. The narrator finds a Martian dead. They were not defeated by human bombs or bullets, but by the Earth’s smallest creatures—bacteria.
8. Return and Reflection: The narrator reunites with his wife (miraculously unharmed) and reflects on the event, recognizing humanity's narrow escape and the change in perspective the invasion brought.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't assume the Martians were defeated by the army. Their defeat by bacteria is the central point of Wells' commentary!

Key Takeaway: The plot is a journey of disillusionment, showing how quickly civilization breaks down when faced with an unstoppable, alien threat.

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Section 3: Key Characters and Relationships (AO2)

The characters are less important as individuals and more important as symbols representing different aspects of humanity’s reaction to crisis.

3.1 The Unnamed Narrator (The Observer)

• Role: Our eyes and ears. He is a philosophical observer, trying to make sense of the chaos, rather than a heroic figure.
• Evolution (AO2): He starts confident but becomes increasingly desperate and animalistic, fighting over food and witnessing death without emotion. His survival is a testament to basic instinct.
• Relationship with Reader (AO4): Because he is unnamed, we easily step into his shoes, enhancing the realism of the terror.

3.2 The Curate (The Religious Panic)

• Role: He represents organized religion’s complete failure in the face of scientific horror.
• Traits: Cowardly, selfish, and hysterical. He consumes food greedily and shouts about the Martians being agents of God’s wrath.
• Symbolism (AO3): His madness and eventual death (killed by the narrator to keep silence, or by the Martians) show that blind faith is useless against overwhelming scientific power.

3.3 The Artilleryman (The Broken Dreamer)

• Role: Initially energetic, he represents the optimistic military man.
• Transformation: After witnessing the destruction, he descends into lazy, drunken fantasy. He plans an elaborate underground future but does nothing to achieve it.
• Wells’ Message (AO2): The Artilleryman shows that human resilience is often fragile. Grand ideas fail in the face of harsh reality; action is what matters.

3.4 The Martians (The Ultimate Oppressor)

• Appearance (AO1/AO3): Described as horrific and alien—large, throbbing brains; V-shaped mouths; tentacles; and heavy, difficult breathing. This grotesque image emphasizes their inhumanity.
• Methods (AO2): They are purely logical, highly evolved beings who treat humans the way humans treat livestock. They are physically weak but technologically far superior (Tripods, Heat Ray, Black Smoke).
• Key Takeaway: Wells presents the Martians as a warning about the potential outcome of evolution that prioritizes intellect over morality or empathy.

Key Takeaway: Wells uses the supporting characters to explore the wide range of human responses to existential crisis, from religious panic to military fantasy.

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Section 4: Major Themes (The Deeper Meaning) (AO2)

4.1 Imperialism and Reversed Colonialism

This is the most important theme. Wells flips the narrative of British superiority.

• The Analogy: The Martians treat humans exactly how the British treated indigenous people in their colonies—with superior weapons, utter disregard, and efficient cruelty.
• Key Quotation Idea (AO1/AO3): The Martians view us as "slow, though still intensely active, creatures" deserving of extermination, just as European colonists often dismissed native populations.
• The Moral: Wells asks readers to feel the terror of the colonized, promoting a wider understanding of human concern (Syllabus Aim).

4.2 The Fragility of Civilization and Hubris (Human Arrogance)

Before the invasion, humans were arrogant, believing they were masters of the world. The invasion immediately strips away all markers of civilization (government, law, military).

• Breakdown: People revert to primal survival—looting, stampeding, and abandoning social rules. Wells suggests that civilization is merely a thin veneer that cracks easily under pressure.
• Hubris Defeated: Human technology is useless. The greatest armies fail. Humanity is saved by the smallest, invisible organisms—the bacteria. This is Wells’ final lesson: nature is the ultimate, indifferent master.

4.3 Evolution and Darwinism

The Martians represent a future stage of evolution—a terrifying race where physical body has withered away in favour of pure, giant intellect. They are cold, logical, and monstrous.

• The Lesson: Wells warns that evolution is not always "progress" in a moral sense. Highly evolved life can be entirely cruel.
• Martian Flaw: Despite their evolutionary superiority and technology, they ignored the simplest biological factor: immunity. They evolved beyond fighting germs, which became their undoing.

Key Takeaway: The novel uses the alien invasion to critique Victorian arrogance, show the rapid collapse of society, and explore the harsh realities of natural selection.

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Section 5: Wells' Writing Methods and Language (AO3)

Wells is a master of blending scientific observation with visceral horror. This is how he achieves his powerful effects.

5.1 Point of View: First-Person Narration

• Effect: By using the unnamed narrator, the events feel immediate, personal, and terrifyingly real. We experience the confusion, the fear, and the starvation right alongside him.
• Credibility: The narrator often attempts scientific or philosophical analysis, which lends an air of seriousness and credibility to the otherwise fantastic events.

5.2 Descriptive Language and Imagery

Wells uses intense sensory detail, especially when describing the Martians and their machines.

• The Tripods: Described with verbs suggesting immense power and unnatural movement: "striding," "swaying," and "pitilessly and swiftly." This transforms the machine into a terrifying, almost biological monster.
• The Heat Ray: Described as a silent, invisible killer that turns men into "a pillar of fire." The lack of sound makes the destruction even more horrific.
• The Red Weed (Symbolism): This rapidly growing red vegetation is visually jarring—it makes the English countryside look alien, symbolizing the Martians’ rapid, destructive takeover.

5.3 Use of Pacing and Contrast

Wells frequently contrasts moments of intense action with periods of quiet, psychological horror.

• Action Scenes: Fast-paced descriptions of stampedes and military defeat create immediate tension. (E.g., the scene where the Thunder Child battleship fights a glorious, futile battle.)
• Psychological Horror: The lengthy sequence trapped with the Curate is slow, claustrophobic, and focuses on the mental breakdown caused by helplessness. This demonstrates a deep appreciation of human suffering.

5.4 Foreshadowing and Irony

• Irony: The central irony is that the technologically primitive humans survive, while the hyper-advanced Martians perish due to nature's most basic defense mechanism (bacteria). This undermines their arrogance completely.
• Foreshadowing: The opening lines of the novel warn about human short-sightedness, setting the tone for the disaster that follows.

Key Takeaway: Wells uses a realistic narrative voice, terrifying imagery, and structural contrast to make the invasion feel believable, driving home his critical messages about society and science.

Keep revisiting these sections, practice quoting key moments (AO1), and most importantly, remember to express your personal response (AO4) to the terror and the message of this incredible novel!